Anime 52299 Ore Dake Level Up Na Ken Reviews

The premise of video game mechanics as a magic system is the single most creatively bankrupt decision an author can make. I will curse Sword Art Online for making it popular until I die

The thing is that all of the different video game stats in an actual video game represent things. If my dude levels out in Fallout and he gains +1 point in strength that doesn't mean he gets a little form and chooses the "Make me stronger" option. No, he has been travelling the wasteland and has become physically stronger because of it. Same goes for every other concept. You have HP in ... a game because it wouldn't be feasible to recreate the entire human physiology in a game. So, the HP number goes down instead of the engine needing to calculate whether or not a vital organ was hit and how it affects the rest of the body.

Now, you may being saying, "congratulations, you've explained why video games aren't realistic, but why does that matter for a power system replicating those mechanics?" The answer is simple, the only reason we have those mechanics in the first place is to simplify things that wouldn't work in a video game. Having that be your power system is just admitting you can't come up with anything creative. Why give your characters HP and stats if they are to represent things in real life? Its just useless. Imagine if Gandalf had to pull up a little screen and check to see if he unlocked the "break floor" spell in his fight with the balrog.

Anyway, if you like this kind of content you'll enjoy this show, whenever I see this trope I get irrationally angry. If not, watch Frieren, it has an actual magic system and characters that aren't generic schlock.

Preface
Solo Leveling is the most eagerly anticipated anime of Winter 2024, mostly because it faced minimal competition from new releases. Hype aside, it still got eclipsed by the ongoing success of Frieren from the previous season and it is a fairly standard power fantasy that got fervently praised by fans of the web comic. As is usually the case with fans they want you to believe it’s some subversive masterpiece, although it does nothing that its predecessors haven’t already explored, often with superior execution. Furthermore, its glaringly apparent flaws provide plenty of reasons for the average watcher to disengage.

1) It’s needlessly padded out
Something everyone who ... seeks a good power fantasy will notice early on, is that it doesn’t begin as one. It takes its time in establishing the setting and the rules and the major characters before becoming a power fantasy after 4 episodes. This deliberate pacing may prove off-putting to audiences desiring immediate gratification through seeing the protagonist doing cool stuff right from the start (think of One Punch Man for example). Also, despite the slow buildup the show falters in establishing the basics of its premise.
- The setting is an augmented version of our mundane reality, infused with isekai portals and superhuman abilities. It doesn’t differ in the slightest despite a decade of constant monster invasions and people walking around with the ability to demolish concrete walls. Beyond the superficial addition of a hunter association, it doesn’t reflect any substantive shifts in geopolitics, the global economy, or societal norms. It’s lazily made and doesn’t deserve any time in elaborating how it functions.
- The mechanics governing videogame powers and superhuman abilities, along with the hierarchical ranking system, are conveyed with no nuance. They are the most basic representation of an MMO which might have been cool to follow in the early 2000s along with other titles doing the same such as .hack and Gantz, but now it’s ever-present in our pop culture. It became understandable through mere osmosis and there is little reason to be explained.
- The characters are as one-dimensional as they get. They are all defined by a singular character trait, so once again they don’t deserve any elaboration. The director doesn’t seem to get that and persists in interrupting action sequences to afford glimpses into the inconsequential activities of minor characters somewhere far away, which leads to needlessly diluting the narrative focus.

2) Its explanations work against it
The series’ sluggish pacing works against it, and the more it tries to explain its world and powers the more it exacerbates the shortcomings of its world-building and power system. It would be a more satisfying viewing experience if no explanations were given and more screen time was allocated to the action scenes. You know, the main appeal of the show? The revelation that hunters must personally finance their equipment and they undertake perilous dungeon delves merely to pay the bills (it’s literally mentioned on the intro song), can make you wonder why would low-ranking hunters such as the protagonist in the beginning of the show persist in risking their lives when more lucrative and less hazardous employment opportunities exist. Flipping burgers or gathering trash would earn them more money and there would be no risk.

3) The action is constantly interrupted
The best parts of the show are, as you can imagine, the dungeon battles. They have all the pulse-pounding action and captivating moments anyone would be watching such a show for. Regrettably, these highlights are marred by constant interruptions just to explain new mechanics or to show us inconsequential characters in faraway locations, thus ruining whatever hype you might be experiencing at that moment. They are also filled with a lot of questionable moments, such as the complete lack of safety protocols that result in an unacceptably high casualty rate. They just deploy a bunch of people, completely unprotected and unmonitored, thus it’s very easy for anyone to die because he does something risky or, even worse, to kill his fellow hunters and run away with their gear and loot without anyone questioning what actually happened.

4) The videogame terminology works against it
The infusion of videogame terminology can cater to gamers, yet unwittingly creates a jarring dissonance for everyone else. Having statistic screens with levels and numbers and abilities may lend a certain allure within the confines of a virtual world, but when applied on the real-world such elements become a detriment. The reason we need statistic screens in videogames is because we can see and hear, but we don’t experience pain, emotions, or hunger as we do in reality. That is why numerical indicators for health, emotional state, and fatigue serve a vital purpose. However, when we are in the real world these metrics become redundant since we do feel pain, emotions, and hunger. Such videogame mechanics make sense in, let’s say, Sword Art Online, but not in Solo Leveling. It’s why the protagonist’s incessant monitoring of his health bar or fatigue gauge was making me eye-roll. It underscored his detachment from his own bodily sensations, as if he had no idea if he was tired or not. Also, being heavily injured is simply more natural than saying ‘My hit points are down to 18%’.

5) The protagonist lacks agency
Beyond its superficial appeal, the videogame aesthetics employed in Solo Leveling also strip the protagonist of free will and agency. His actions are dictated by the videogame system, rendering him a mere pawn in its machinations. Choices presented by the system are illusory at best, since they simply ask him if he accepts to do something or be severely punished. Do your daily quests or get chased around by monsters! Complete this special quest, or die! Your health is down, so buy potions! There’s nothing to actually choose in any of that. By extension, the protagonist’s accomplishments feel staged and unearned, since he would have never done anything without the enforcement of the system.

6) Character development is sudden and artificial
Any changes to the protagonist’s personality are artificial for a similar reason, since they too are imposed by the system rather than arising organically from within. They are also fairly sudden, which comes off as extra jarring when the pacing is overall glacial. The protagonist literary becomes a different person in an instant, then the animators go as far as changing his facial structure completely, and then the viewer is expected to be fine with it. How about no, since it was both artificial and sudden?

7) Moral dilemmas are hollow
Any attempts at moral dilemma also ring hollow, such as a scene where the protagonist has to choose between killing people or dying himself. There is no real choice, especially when the people he had to kill were already about to kill him. Furthermore, said people were one-dimensional evil bad guys, made to be hated. Their leader’s name was Sucks Dong, in case you weren’t given enough reasons to hate this guy. The writer wasn’t even trying, yet he expected the viewer to consider this a life-changing moment.

8 ) The protagonist is not an underdog but a cheater
Down to it, the protagonist was designed to be a blank slate for gamers to project themselves onto, but this inherent lack of agency detracts from his appeal, rendering him a bland archetype devoid of genuine depth or charisma. Undoubtedly, there is an audience for bland-looking self-inserts who get constantly betrayed by society and then get constantly more powerful so they can extract their revenge. The main issue with this bland-looking self-insert in specific is that he is not an underdog or a victim as many fans like to portray him as.
- He is the only one who can level up in this show, so you can’t call him something that can’t apply to anyone else.
- He is not a victim when the hunter association allowed him to be a hunter and all his teammates (including the ones who wanted to kill him) were very welcoming. Nobody denied him the chance to participate or to prove his worth through his accomplishments.
- In reality he is a cheater, since he doesn’t tell anyone how he gets stronger and he has several unfair advantages over everyone else. No other hunter is given a life-saving full recovery in the middle of the battle, or the option to buy potions as he is dying. It’s not the system giving him the change to get stronger. It’s the system being rigged so he will be the only one who gets favored by it, thus becoming stronger while everyone else is kept in the dark (and dies because of it).

9) Grinding and training are filler
The portrayal of training within the series serves as further evidence of its narrative inconsistencies. There is a portion of anime fans who get motivated by seeing characters training and getting stronger, as if they are gym rats. This show in particular should have the opposite effect, since training sequences in Solo Leveling lack significance. The protagonist’s exclusive access to leveling renders the efforts of secondary characters futile. Gym rat scenes, intended to evoke motivation and empowerment, come off as useless filler. Even if it wasn’t so, training scenes in general are looked down upon by most fans of power fantasies. They tend to find them boring and they skip them, aiming to get to the outcome right away for that sweet dopamine fix. That is why most power fantasies begin with the protagonist being the most powerful since the very beginning. Nobody cares to see him grind. They want to see him being awesome. In this regard Solo Leveling fails spectacularly by not delivering on the genre’s expectations.

Conclusion
Solo Leveling is nothing special when it comes to power fantasies. Its badly implemented videogame tropes, coupled with intrusive interruptions to its action sequences, diminish its overall impact. It’s just seasonal hype during a season with no real competition. And even then it still pales in comparison to Frieren, a cozy slice of life about an elf gmilf. It’s a forgettable time-waster at best.

umm I've changed my mind

Why is the anime focusing on other characters beside mc? I don't like this now .

Why is mc more Japanese al of a sudden? they cut off his cool character and made him another generic Japanese simp mc with no brain,

Won't be surprised if mc falls on joohe's boobs by accident and start blushing.

WHY do they keep talking? this is ridiculous!!!!!!

... Can't they just fight ?? I expected JJK s2 level but it's jsut talks and characters yapping, so frustrating 😤 damn it.

Why is that joohe even getting screen time being depressed and shit lol, IDC AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA just fight fight fight.

FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT, and what's with cha and choi and baiyk ? why should see them Yapping? HA? IDC what are they talking about,

IDC about them training, just show me MC asap AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

The manhwa was a bad story with cardboard characters wish-fulfillment self-insert wankfest done (semi-)interestingly. You weren't bored, you had fun, you waited for more, and were glad to get to read more. Anime is plain bad, the only redeeming thing is that the budget is bigger than that of a typical run-of-a-mill isekai. The way anime handled character growth made me cringe about as much as something like Iseleve, with the typical "I was meh, but now plot device made me tall, shredded, with a cool anime hairstyle, girls wet themselves just by seeing me, and also I shit on semi-strong peers by how strong ... and cool I am now" without even trying to cover or sugarcoat it.

If I were to summarize my disappointment after all the word-of-mouth advertising going on, it's "Korean SAO, but worse".

I predict the rating to be 7.69 in May. Buy me a beer if I'm right

story- basic shonen genre. It WILL get more ridiculous as it's nearing the end. 6/10

art- 8/10

characters- only sung jin woo matters 3/10

character development- only sung jin woo matters 3/10

If you're under 15 and enjoyed sao, I highly recommend you watch this anime. The older you get, the stupider it will get. If you're picky like me, you still should check out the webtoon. I'm making it sound so bad, but in reality it might not be bad at all. I've just seen too much of the same thing too ... much, so much so that I physically cringe when I predict something in any form of entertainment

Do you enjoy decently animated fighting scenes and don't care about anything else? Then I highly recommend you stop reading this and start watching already!

Still there? Great. Apart from the fluid animation during fights, this anime has no redeeming qualities at all.
The characters are all unbelievably bleak. Of course, it's called SOLO Leveling - still, after watching all 12 episodes during the last three months, not a single character of this anime lingered in my mind for even a second. Jin-Woo goes from a timid, weak dude to a cold-hearted Gigachad with a flat, deep voice in the matter of about 4 episodes. That's all ... the character development there is - he carries his husky tone and ice-cold mannerisms all the way through the finish line. His sister, like all the other characters, seems to merely exist as reason-givers or stepping stones. Why does he fight? For his sick mother and for his sister, of course... right? It's hard to believe this, given his complete refusal to engage in friendly, light-hearted interactions with others. Even his oh-so-beloved sister only gets the cold shoulder from him whenever she tries to talk to him. Why should the viewer care for Jin-Woo's quest if he himself doesn't seem to care in the slightest for anyone or anything?

Then there's the world-building. I don't even need to go into much detail here. It's just the world we live in, but there are portals to mostly gloomy, fantasy-like dungeons. Some people awaken to powers that can neither get stronger nor weaker; a bit like in a caste system, you're forever locked into your rank. They have to go into the dungeon portals to slay the monsters, keeping the world safe from them and earning some bucks. It's not all that creative, and there hasn't been a single surprising moment. The world goes on as usual, but there are portals now. It doesn't seem to change society in the slightest. To top it off, the whole story unfolds in one place - a grey, anonymous city with nothing interesting to see.

This point is so important to me that it deserves its own paragraph. Everything looks SO boring. There's the city and there are the dungeons, which are mostly just caves with no interesting features. Visually, this whole anime has no imagination at all. It completely lacks character and beauty. Why do even the fantasy world caves have to look so dull? Even Sword Art Online, a show often cited as an example for how not to do... anything, gets this right!

And the show can't even make up for it with an interesting plot. The main storyline is basically "Jin-Woo has to become strong and faces some obstacles". Even the fact that he's the only one able to level up and get stronger isn't particularly interesting, as it doesn't seem to have any implications or downsides. It's just... there, instead of being presented as a mystery of some kind. Hell, if something like that happened to you, you'd be dying to know the "why" and "how"! Jin-Woo however just accepts it as it is, confiding in no one, never trying to find out if anyone else experiences this...

What makes it worse is that it takes itself extremely serious. I don't mean to say every anime has to include comedy of some kind - but Solo Leveling just doesn't contain any light-hearted moments at all. The only thing that made me chuckle was the sudden transformation from weakling to muscular chad - but even that seems to have been intended as a serious matter. His surroundings at least accept it as the most normal thing ever, even though one can barely recognize him after this.

The opening is just utterly silly - "Now I'm racking up the kills - I got to pay the bills" probably sounds like a cool line when you're about 10 years old. Yet, one could say the lyrics are kinda revealing - they're about as deep as the show itself.

I can only advise anyone with any standards at all not to give this series a chance. It's not even bad in a funny way, but rather a slugfest lasting 12 episodes, interspersed with decent but basically meaningless fights.

This Anime is basically the basic bitch of anime with way to much make-up on and, even though this anime is nothing but a masterpiece when it comes to being generic, it got an 8.5 rating on this site. Now, Im very happy to see that this anime got a 8.5. I wished it would even get a waaaaay higer score, like 9 or 10, because it shows that all this nonsense about deep characters, engaging plat, overall deep and complex story and well written character development and interactions, are completely pointless and no one actually cares about this and only writes this in reviews ... or reddit or pornhub or hentai forums, just to justify in some smartass way, why he liked a show (or didnt) even though he/she has no actually clue, why he likes anything in this world. And Im one of them: I have no clue why I dont like Solo Leveling. And I also dont know why I liked another show.
This is something that this anime has tought me and I am very thankful for that: Every human being that has ever lived or will live, knows absolutely nothing about life or him/herself. We are all fucking stupid, and we know nothing about anything.

✵Solo leveling is a masterpiece, it is truly amazing and I really love it✵

✵Here's a detailed review of Solo Leveling✵

✵Synopsis and Background Story✵

Ten years ago, "the Gate" appeared and connected the real world with the realm of magic and monsters. To combat these deadly monsters, ordinary people received magical abilities and superhuman powers and became known as Hunters. Our Main Protagonist Twenty-year-old Sung Jin-Woo is one such Hunter, but he is known as the "World's Weakest," owing to his pathetic power compared to even a measly E-Rank. Because of his weak power Sung Jinwoo finds himself in a seemingly endless struggle for survival but he ... still hunts monsters tirelessly in low-rank Gates to pay for his Mother's medical bills and his Sister's College. One day, after narrowly surviving an overwhelmingly powerful double dungeon that nearly wipes out his entire party, he wakes up in a hospital three days later to find a mysterious screen floating in front of him. This mysterious programme called the system chooses him as its sole player and gives him the extremely rare ability to level up in strength, possibly beyond any known limits. Jinwoo soon understands it may just transform him into one of the world's most fearsome Hunters. He than sets out on a journey as he fights against all kinds of enemies, both man and monster, to discover the secrets of the dungeons and the true source of his powers.

✵Starting✵

Solo leveling is a masterpiece. After watching first three episodes you may think it will end up trash like many generic RPG/MMO style anime. As a Solo Leveling Manhwa and Ln reader, I can assure you that this opinion is completely wrong. The story is filled with plots that make sense, flowing with extremely well written character development, assisted by very good character interactions. Of course, like many stories, it starts out slow but it will get better each episode. This anime will quickly become exciting to watch and you'll continuously be asking for more after finishing each episode. Give it a chance and watch new episode every week, I'm sure all action and fantasy lovers will enjoy this anime.

✵Main Protagonist✵

Solo Leveling Main Protagonist Sung Jin-woo is very well written character. He goes through a fast and really well character development. After getting his new and extremely rare abilities he is able to level up his rank quickly. Through that experience he drastically changes his personality and is able to experience much more action than previously before.

✵Important Characters✵

I cannot get enough of how amazing each important characters are in their own way. The characters are easy to understand, or relate to. Every choices from each important characters makes complete sense based on our understanding of their personality, or their history. We aren't stuck with any characters that have overly unrealistic personalities, which makes reading this all the better. Each important characters goes through a really well character development.

✵Animation✵

The animation is absolutely solid, it flows extremely well and is probably one of the best adaptions of a LN and Manhwa into an Anims I've ever seen. The animation quality is really good and they did a great job of translating the story into animation. The Animation Studio A-1 Pictures takes on the responsibility of taking this story to the realm of animation, and just like they do in all their projects. They really did a solid job. Since Solo Leveling is a battle and fantasy series, the main highlights of this series are action and supernatural elements. The said action has been taken to a higher level by the vibrant art of the Webtoon. Since A-1 Pictures is a veteran anime studio, having colored artwork as the base material helped them in translating the series onto the screen more fluently. Solo leveling anime features stunning visuals and good animation. The character designs stay true to the Light Novel and Manhwa version, with an improved animation quality that viewers can enjoy. In every scene, we can feel the attention to detail given by the animation studio to visualize this intriguing fantasy world. From the backgrounds to the characters' expressions, everything looks so vivid and supports the supernatural feel of the story.

✵Voice Acting✵

Taito Ban’s performance as Shng Jin-woo feels fitting as he begins being weak and unsure, and little by little, we hear his voice changing and becoming more secure in his abilities. Genta Nakamura also does a great job as Yoo Jin-ho, who will become Sung Jin-woo’s best friend and become increasingly important as the story progresses.

✵Opening and Ending✵

The studio delivers a compelling musical score for Solo Leveling.
✵Opening✵-The visuals of the Solo Leveling opening theme 'Level' is mind blowing. The new opening theme 'Level' for Solo Leveling is performed by the famous K-pop group TOMORROW X TOGETHER, and composed by the well known music composer Hiroyuki Sawano. The opening song is really good and it sets the perfect tone for the series.

✵Ending✵-The visuals of the Solo Leveling ending theme 'Request' is also mind blowing. The new ending theme 'Request' for Solo Leveling is performed by the modern Japanese-pop or J-pop singer and song writer krage, and composed by the well known music singer and song writer TK from Ling Tosite Sigure. The ending song is really great and it tells us what is happening with Sung Jin-Woo in anime.

✵Reccomendation and Conclusion✵

I have reread all the chapters many times and it really doesn't get old and same thing will happen for Solo Leveling anime too. The animation, action and the adventure of Sung Jin Woo will make Solo Leveling lovers keep coming back and watch Solo Leveling anime again. You may not see this as a Masterpiece like I do, but it is overall definitely a minimum 8 out of 10. If you love fantasy, action, adventure then this is for you. Give it a chance and watch new episode every week and even when you are finished watching all episodes, watch the anime again, you can also read Solo Leveling Manhwa all chapters. I am sure you will see the beauty in it.
Overall It's a 10 out of 10.

I think this was one of the most popular manhwa/manga before becoming an anime, but being popular doesn't always equal good.
From the title and art alone I wasn't impressed, seems like another story using the rule of cool by showing off their edgy MC (main character) being much more OP than everyone else by grinding and having all the girls fall for him later by sacrificing good writting and trying to make the bland-looking MC like a self-insert, maybe that's also fault of other animes with the same flaws leaving that bad experience (looking at you Sword Art Online), so let's see how this holds ... up.

Starting off it takes the over-saturated concept of the "isekai world" but putting them on the real world, which adds nothing to the story since they're acessed by portals and despite being in the modern current real world and having the materials to create weapons that damage the monsters, they decide to only make swords and easely-breakable knives (how brilliant), and the monsters? your run of the mill goblins, giant bugs, wolves, ect (how original). Even though in the worldbuilding they say only hunters with superpowers can defeat the monsters, anyone with a weapon can do it too as long as they can afford it which already contradicts what's previously said, the the "superpowers" is stuff like shooting fire from your hands or running fast (how original x2).

Now about the MC, which is always a problem with this type of shows, they making the zero-to-hero approach but in a very bad way, they make the MC start as the weakest so he can WOW everyone else by taking a shortcut and being this rule of cool arrogant edgy protagonist later, as the weak version the creator tries to make him look smart where on reality everyone else is just dumb fodder, he survives by sheer plot-armor and like SAO where you have a much bigger ratio of guys compared to girls, he (the MC) has to have a girl (with the personality of "hey I'm a healer) lovestruck by him for no given reason other than him being the MC. He's given this leveling system unique to him because he's the chosen one or wtv to become stronger (how to fail to make a good protagonist 101).

The main plot is non-existent, the story is boring and predictable (except how terrible it was written in the transition from episode 2 to episode 3, I wouldn't guess it would go that bad), characters are one-dimensional and dumb, the world makes no sense and the criativity is as bland as it gets, honestly there wasn't anything of value here and I fail to see how it got this popular while being so dull, 3 episodes is more of enough to ride off this train before it derails.

Solo Leveling is about as generic of a shounen story in a game-esque setting as it's going to get

Your character basically fills the list of main character characteristics

- is a coward
- is dumb
- lots of yelling
- lots of flashbacks about being weak

The biggest issue isn't the guy being a coward, it's just repeated too much, and doesn't feel explored properly. But second to being weak is that he's also dumb. The guy has no thoughts about how to play around his weakness, doesn't try to analyze the situation or the enemies to get an advantage. He basically goes head first into everything, and guess what, ... it always works out.

Are you struggling to fight off 2 wolves? Don't worry, you'll suddenly be able to fight off a dozen wolves easier (for no real reason).

Did you put all your points into strength? No worries, you'll move like you put them all into agility, while tanking hits like you put them all into vitality.

Did you leave your intelligence at default? No worries, you don't need it anyway, because everything will work out because you're the protagonist.

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As for the rest of the show, the yelling and flashbacks are per usual to these kind of stories, and they're always bad because they last longer than needed and detract from the current scene.

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Overall, this is basically main character syndrome made into an anime. There are basically no other characters, besides a love interest who's currently sidelined.

If you like mindless self-insert power fantasy with decent animation you'll definitely enjoy Solo Leveling. This anime is just your standard run-of-the-mill power fantasy that doesn't do anything to stand out. Its only somewhat redeeming quality is its okay animation.

I went in with no expectation and was still disappointed, I can't describe this show without the word cringe. I'm not sure if the show was written by a 15 years old loser who never had human interaction in his life or by a self-aware author who just wanted to cater to a wide audience. This series just doesn't have anything worth mentioning: the characters are ... soulless, the MC is the most plain piece of crap imaginable designed so that every pathetic loser can relate to him, the story is non-existent and the animation is decent, while it definitely has high highs it's also very inconsistent.

The MC, Jin-Woo, is just your average self-insert power fantasy protagonist: physically average in every regard, dark-brown semi-long hair, kind and weak. Of course he has a female sidekick that's just madly in love with him. Since the show follows an arbitrary videogame logic, she is obviously a healer because she's a weak-minded girl and all she does is shout the MC's name and cry. The MC starts off as the weakest character in the show so that he can be constanly victimized but while exploring a low level dungeon he finds a high level secret area and somehow just becomes insanely overpowered (surely this hasn't been done a hundred times before already). His new ability allows him to cheat and completely ignore all the rules that everyone else has to follow, because he's so fucking special and he's the only character that matters. After this incident he gets a glow up: he gets a hot body by working out for a few days, his face changes, he gets a haircut, his voice changes, he becomes taller, he now wears a hoodie with a zipper because it's cooler I guess and everyone is in love with him because surely women only care about looks. Now that he's overpowered he can do whatever he wants and even his personality changes, he becomes absolutely unlikable.

As stated, there is no story, there are only setups for the MC to look cool, because that's the whole point of the anime, and I guess in a way it succeeds in that regard; I can atleast praise it for what it is and for knowing what it wants to be. But it's just personally cringe and painful to watch. The victimization of the MC literally never stops, his characterization is only done through traumatic flashbacks because having trauma makes you so fucking cool (no it doesn't, it's a serious issue please seek therapy). Everybody in this show is just a piece of shit that wants to bully or kill the MC until he goes full dark Sasuke mode and talks with a lower tone with dramatic music in the background and kills everyone but it's okay because it's self-defense.

In short, this anime is bankrupt in the originality department. You can figure out everything that's going to happen in the series after watching 30 seconds of the first episode. Maybe the author never wanted to write an original story, but atleast they could have made it watchable by having interesting characters or a power system that's not just arbitrary video game logic.

Solo Leveling, the series that took the world by storm back in 2018. No less than a few years later, we are graced a with a 12-episode adaptation that appears to be one of the most hyped series in 2024. It's on a lot of wishlists and for good reasons: stunning visuals, a wish fuflling premise, a diverse cast, and through word of mouth. Korean webnovel anime adaptations have been gaining mainstream popularity in recent years, with Tower of God being another recent example. Solo Leveling tries to set its own example as well.

I want to preface and mention, this review is based from an ... anime viewer's perspective. I have not read the original source so everything here is based on what's shown in the anime without comparsion to the manhwa. With its promotional material, there was still no doubt that Solo Leveilng would be a popular title this year. The stellar animation offers a visual feast with its sharp character designs and impressive chereography. It's hard not to talk about the show just from what a technical point.

The producers and episode directors had a vision: deliver on its promise to treat fans to what they want to see. Solo Leveling starts off introducing protagonist Sung Jin-woo, who is known as the 'weakest Hunter'. Throughout the show, he gets stronger after teaming up with allies while also engaging in feuds with other guild members. The anime revolves around dungeon quests with standard RPG elements including a leveling system with loot/gear. Think of it as a protagonist in a video game starring Jin-woo. Despite supposingly being the 'weakest hunter', he adapts with situation quickly and uses logic, strategies, and plans to survive. Watching Jin-woo's role in this show feels like being in the shoes of a gamer. He plays and thinks like one while trying to prove himself. While Jin-woo didn't seem to have a main goal at the start of the show, it does become more appearent that he wants to become stronger to protect the ones he loves. It's a typical protagonist trope used to represent heroes. Jin-woo seeks opportunities to becomes stronger for the sake of his family, and it's not that surprising when we witness his actions. They speak louder than words when we realize how much risk he puts himself in. Even against overwhelming odds, he will try to overcome them.

Jin-woo is also a character with flaws, as evidenced in early episodes. His self-doubt and inferiority complex in the beginning held him back and isn't until he fights on the frontlines that he begins to grow out of that shell. Even at times when he is confident, he realizes that not everything can be resolved through his actions. However, this season doesn't truly explore his character and a particular drawback revolves around the relationship he builids with others. This is especially minimal with characters like Cha Hae-In, who early on in the show managed to impress the audience with her skills and reputation. His character relationship with anyone outside his family is mostly obligatory rather than commitment. He always puts his family first and it's his love for them that motivates him. Sadly, the character cast ends up being collateral damage for underdevelopment at the expenise of Jin-woo. There's an overemphasis on his character progression at the expense of others. Being that it's a 12-episode, the pacing didn't help much either.

Despite the underwritten cast, I must give praise to its combat system in the show. Even if the idea isn't original, its loot and gear system brings out the classic standands of dungeon crawlers. At a fundamental level, hunters fight monsters, accepts quests, collect gear, but there are also special objectives. These may be seem like 'side objectives' but each of them improves a hunter's rank and skill. The anime adaptation goes through lengths to show what certain hunters are capable of. S-rank for instance is in class of its own. Even though we do not see their true potential, Cha Hae-In's presence alone breathes meaning into that rank. Nonetheless, this season only scratches the surface although in one particular episode, we see a bit of Jin-woo unleashing what appears to be his true hidden potential. It's just a slap in the face that it was one surreal moment and we don't see it much more. Solo Leveling has a tendency to get fans hyped for certain moments, and when it delivers, it really do deliver. Other times, it drops the ball.

To be honest, it felt like A-1 Pictures was destined to be involved in this project. They've done work related to fantasy adventures before, most noticable among their projects including the Sword Art Online franchise. The animation team indeed gave his a visual paint that surpassed my expctations. The action has sharp cheroegraphy that gives the show its momentum while important scenes are animated with cinematic quality. Character expressions are focused in detail ranging from eye coordination to human emotions. Most noticable is how Jin-woo responds to different scenarios whether it's fighting monsters or social conversations with certain cast members. Similarly, the theme songs contains a well-crafted tone courtsey of SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]. It might sound predictable to see that they're involved but I can think of no better composer to make this work.

Solo Leveling can be approached with the amount of hype it sets itself up. As an anime original viewer, I was definitely curious on how they tell a story in the fantasy adventure genre and game mechnics. After all, we have been flooded with so many similar shows every season in recent years. For Solo Leveling, it's a show that is watchable for its hype and sure enough, anyone can watch it to be enjoyed. But for its overall presentation, I really did expect more.

The recent trend of Korean manhwa being adapted into Japanese anime has finally brought us to this point. Arguably the biggest manhwa of all time, Solo Leveling has finally got an anime and is a meathead action fan’s biggest dream come true. Delivering some of the best action scenes you’ll see this year, an amazing Sawano OST and a solid power fantasy, this one was a fun watch.

For the last several years, I’ve heard a ton of hype about Solo Leveling and I honestly didn’t think too much of it. Shonen esque battle series are just pretty meh to me at this stage in life, ... so I never picked up the novels or manhwa. But I have to say I was blown away by the anime. A-1 gave us an absolute visual spectacle with some amazing fights, but I also found the concept of hunters, dungeons and portals into other dimensions to be really cool. This type of urban fantasy adventurer setting isn’t really something I’ve seen before so it was quite the experience. Particularly seeing how the Korean government regulates the hunters and how it’s such a big part of the economy.

I think I’ll be in the minority here on this one, but I actually like the story of Solo Leveling? At least as an anime only to this point in the story. That’ll probably come as a surprise to many of you given one of the biggest criticisms against the series is it being a generic power fantasy with no plot and great art. That could be the case later on in the story, but to me, the story so far while simple, is still interesting. Jinwoo getting stronger to provide for and protect his family as well as unravelling the mystery of being a “player” while simple, was still interesting. I also think your mileage may vary entertainment wise depending on the amount of power fantasy dungeon crawling stories you’ve seen. To my understanding, SL’s success made these tropes quite popular in manhwa, but since I haven’t seen or read any others, it’s fresh to me.

Jinwoo as an MC is pretty one dimensional. He wants to get stronger and protect his family, but that’s about it to him so far. It’s hard to really criticise that aspect of the story, though because it’s clear the author just wanted a zero to hero type story with some cool fights and a little escapism. As he levels up and fights stronger opponents, we do see gradual changes in his personality. The cruel and ruthless reality of the world in which hunters operate forces him to morph into a more jaded and brutal person. Going from unable to kill humans to doing it with ease. He’s definitely a bit edgy at times, but again, didn’t mind it too much. In most of the fights in this season, he’s an underdog going up against opponents stronger than him. I like that every big fight gave him a struggle, but I wish they would have been more creative with some of the kills in the fights. It’s like the build up to and climax of the fights were top tier, but the kills were a little meh due to the same technique being used to take down 3 bosses in a row. I will say, even though it’s a meathead series, Jinwoo at least to the point we’ve seen so far, has to outwit some of his opponents since he isn’t straight up stronger yet. Seeing those techniques made the fights even more interesting.

As a massive Sawano stan the joy I felt when I first heard the OST in this one was immeasurable. Absolute masterclass. Made every fight and hype moment so much more intense and Sawano just has a way of transporting you to another world in a way no other artist can. His collab with one of my fave Kpop groups, TxT for the OP was also incredible. A-1 brought the A team out for this one. The fights and direction were top notch and you can only image the painstaking hours that went into this. It paid off and I got to tip my hat to the staff.

Solo Leveling might not be the strongest story or have the most compelling MC out there, but it has an interesting world, awesome fights and is just a nice visual spectacle. Not everything needs to be complex, it just needs to be competent, which this is. The story knows what it is and makes no effort to be anything else. It’s confident in its power fantasy status and excels in it. If you’re looking for something with substantive narrative, this isn’t for you. If you want to turn your brain off and have fun, this is one for you.

Solo Leveling gets 9 out of 10.

In contemplating the cinematic endeavor under scrutiny, one is compelled to engage in an exploration of its less-than-stellar attributes. The anime in question, regrettably, fails to ascend to the heights of narrative sophistication or visual artistry that are often held as benchmarks within the medium. A disconcerting mélange of disjointed plotlines and an absence of nuanced character development renders the overall viewing experience an exercise in patience.

This lack of narrative clarity, compounded by stilted dialogue exchanges and an undue reliance on trite tropes, substantiates the regrettable descent into mediocrity.

Furthermore, the aesthetic dimension, a realm where anime traditionally excels, languishes in an abyss of substandard animation ... quality and uninspired artistic choices. The visual tapestry, rather than evoking awe or wonder, elicits a sense of disenchantment, with character designs and background elements displaying an unfortunate lack of meticulous craftsmanship.

In summation, the aforementioned anime, despite its earnest attempt at contributing to the diverse landscape of the medium, flounders in its execution. The discerning viewer, seeking a confluence of narrative ingenuity and visual splendor, may find themselves disappointed by this particular foray into the anime milieu.

or to say it in the common tongue," overrated as fuk in my opinion ''

As others have said; Cope.

This hardly sets itself apart from the COUNTLESS titles of the same mediocre game HUD based isekai-esque drivel flooding anime since SAO.

MC: The same underdog story of dreg chaff being blessed with rule breaking special skills and plot armor.

Plot: The same mindless punching bags from all other isekais of the type. The same attractive and graceful Mary Sue’s, the same male supporting characters who are bland as sin.

Art and sound: The same baseline as literally any other comparable series.

Seriously, how does reach an 8? I could only imagine that it’s fan-boy inflation. SIGH.

If you haven't noticed already, Solo Leveling has an anime adaptation that is ongoing as of right now. Fans should have already told you, the anime-only, about what the show should be about (this is important) and how it will break records and shit. And within the first episode, people are already calling it mid, mostly from Twitter.

I am a long-term fan, and my profile picture is proof, but this particular adaptation is making me nervous. Because Aniplex and Crunchyroll are involved--the two worst producers out there and fans won't shut their mouths about the spoilers. Some red flags should be noted as well, ... such as this was originally a Korean manhwa, not Japanese, there are apparently some changes towards the adaptation, and the fact that this is a power fantasy. So many people are doom posting about the show/source.

So how is it for the first 3 episodes? I say it's alright. The show has decent animation and quality (even though the art style sucks ass). The world-building is well-established and not rushed. Sawano did it again with his music, setting the tone for the show. Sucks that the first episode wasn't an hour-long special, it would've been better.

But the pacing is slow as fuck. Anime fans who are used to fast-paced action like Jujutsu Kaisen or any other battle shounen will not last long here. I find that laughable that SL and JJK have opposite pacing problems: one is too slow, but the other is fast as fuck.

Overall, this is a decent adaptation. I hope that it won't screw up in the later parts of the season because that's where it will shine.

he is most certainly solo leveling. i love the part where he solo'd all over all of the levels. best anime of the year, easy 10/10. great story, animation, and characters. there's literally nothing negative that comes to mind when i think about this show.

i've never seen a magic system work quite like the one in this anime. it is very video-gamey, but at the same time it feels organic and well-rounded.

sung's character growth is very satisfying and timely without being overbearing. he is a compelling character with a realistic motivation and actions that a real person would take.

I don't usually give animes a 10/10. A 10/10 is the exception and above its peers in every field imagineable: direction, animation, characterization, narrative, cinematography, dialogue, music. It should have little to no flaws. It should be a masterpiece. Solo leveling is not that. And yet, I cannot help myself but give this anime a 10.

The story is generic, borrowing a lot of ideas from shonen and isekai and multiple wish fulfillment fantasies alike. It's a very simple one and it has its plot holes(minor) and plot conveniences. The characters endearing and likeable but most experience little to no change. The music is amazing, but ... does not reach the heights of scores from Violet Evergarden and Akira. The character design is good but will never be close to the likes of Jojo Bizarre Adventures. The animation is great, visually stunning but it's no Demon Slayer S2 or Mob Psycho 100 II. The direction and cinematography is excellent but doesn't compare to the cinematography and direction of Your Name and Chainsaw Man. The worldbuilding sublime but is nothing like that of One Piece and FMAB. And yet, there's something about Solo leveling that entices me. It's story generic yet compelling ; it's characters stunted but endearing and loveable. It's confusing.

Why is this anime a 10/10 then? It has its flaws. Flaws that would make a lot of people consider it to be "mid". I can tell you why. It's because it's fun. Yes I know, weird answer and a bit anticlimactic but it's the best way I can describe why I and multiple other people think Solo Leveling is a 10. It's SAO written well. It takes the ideas from shonen, isekai, power fantasies and it's manhwa predecessors and combines all of them ; executing the ideas and the tropes it contains to near perfection—birthing something of pure genius. It's a very simple show, it's simplicity being it's beauty. Whether you just wanna have dumb fun or want to escape from the responsibilities and shackles of everyday life, there's a little bit of something for everyone who watches Solo Leveling. It combines action, mystery and fantasy all together—adding a dash of romance and drama for good measure—and it combines all these elements so masterfully well, allowing any type of anime fan to be engaged with Solo Leveling, even if for a brief moment.

Anyone can resonate with the MC, Sung Jin Woo, as he fights back (using the system) against a society that mocked him and pushed him down. You follow Sung Jin Woo as you wait, week by week, to see what kind of awesomeness he will conjure before your very eyes. He is the very essence of the anime, as a main character should be, and you watch him grind to max level, become strong, and eventually, discover sacrifice—it's benefits and consequences.

If you want an exceptional and intricate story? Go watch Attack On Titan. Amazing and complex characters? Go watch Vinland Saga. But if you want to watch an anime where you can just chill by yourself or laugh about with the homies ; an anime that will give you these incredibly positive and strong emotions, leaving you in a state of full immersion, utter awe and immeasurable hype. An anime that I can guarantee will give you an experience like no other. I can recommend an anime. I think it's a masterpiece. Not by definition but by feeling. It's called Solo Leveling. You should try it.

The anime is genuinely not interesting, the pacing is horrible, the action scenes feel robotic, the characters are also one dimensional.

We all knew that Solo Leveling was never great, it was simply an above average novel that brought the popularity of the 'system genre' in Korean Novel Literature.

I was there, I read this shit when it was still an ongoing 'text' novel in 2016, Korean RAW, I used google translate and fan made translations to read this novel and I am more original than any of these 'manga' meat riders who lube themselves before they ride and want to complain about 'I KNEW ... ABOUT THIS MANGA LONG TIME AGO'.

The novel was above average, and the system genre was very good in helping visualize the conditions of the character in the novel.
But the ANIME, where you can SEE, and HEAR, these things, it is simply more than a hindrance to the action, the development, and makes things rather mundane instead.

Story.
It is absolutely mid, and average. But the greatest quirk about solo leveling was the first popularization and introduction of the system which made it stand out from the others. It felt fresh, despite the lack of storytelling from the author. Now that this turned into an anime, the lack of power in storytelling is very VISIBLE, and it is DRAGGING down the quality of the anime.

Pacing.
The director's direction of pacing in the anime is genuinely one of the most horrible quirks with the most extreme fodder looking characters being given so much screen time to yap and explain. They treat the audience like they have a TIKTOK attention span. They cut out most of the rising action that inspires the audience to become excited, inserting unnecessary parts, and most of all interrupting the flow of the story. Holy crap, even the novel wasn't fucking this horribly paced.

Characters.
Lord God, let's be honest here. In the whole series, there is nothing in the MC that makes him STAND OUT, or UNIQUE. Everything about him can be described by the word 'system'. His character development is rushed and not fleshed. His main motivation was to save his mother from said disease, but he lacks the DRIVE, and the URGENCY despite gaining power after a traumatic event. Everyone else is a disposable character, god, even his sister is simply garbage added to make him feel more humane and relatable, but it doesn't work because he SHOWS NO FEELINGS whatsoever throughout the anime that makes me sympathize and relate. Like what others say, he is an Edgy MC where a POWERLESS LOSER becomes super ultra strong and takes revenge and becomes a hero. Self insert fanboys who are losers in real life love consuming this. When I was young in 2016, I was so addicted to this also, but you know what? When you stop being a LOSER and start doing something about it, you actually realize that oh, this guy isn't really all of that.
Nobody matters in the anime except the MC. Even his relationships are FODDER.

Action.
This anime could be considered a shounen, and the actions are relatively straightforward. Let me break down the whole series in one pattern.
1. Weakling
2. Suffers traumatic event, and becomes strong to beat his old challenges.
3. Discovers new enemy, forced interaction btw, and then he gets the urgency to train.
4. Does training and oh my god, almost dies, and gets powerup out of nowhere, a very OP powerup btw to beat an EXTREMELY difficult boss.
5. Never loses. Mary Sue. He will beat everything that he encounters, no matter what.
6. Becomes stronger.
7. Repeat from step 2.

No intrigue, no twists, no nothing.
Disappointed that people hyped this to the heavens and acting like this was the peak of korean work.
Garbage compared to the real heavy hitters. You ever wonder why this novel isn't even in the top 100 in popularity for novels like booktoki?
Yeah, the answer is because it is not that good.

Real heavy hitters ( Novels ) like Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Lazy Swordsmaster, Pick Me Up, King of Knights Return, Suicide Hunter, Returner and the Blind Saint, and Damn Reincarnation steps on this work like garbage easily.

So much brainrot.

Also why the sequel of this anime is straight garbage and very much hated upon within book readers in Korea.
Can't believe I even read through the last part of ending where it was so rushed and genuinely made me question if the author suffered brain damage.

Final Rating.
3/10

I will let it go just because it pioneered the popularity of the 'system genre' in Korean Webnovel Literature smh.

The good:
1) Music - The OP is great and the music in general is fine. If you like singing during your action scenes you can expect it.
2) Animation - The animation is very fluid and done well. Really engaging during action scenes.

The okay:
1) Plot/story/setting - The dungeons themselves are pretty interesting, especially the first dungeon that sets the scene of the show. The actual magic/combat system isn't super complicated. Basically there are letter ranks for each different hunter that measures there power level. Not super engaging but its fine for what it is.

The bad:
1) Protagonist - Sung, Jin-Woo pretty much falls into the typical ... power fantasy character with hardly any personality, incredible attractiveness and having a more 'chaotic neutral' morality compared to your typical heroic shonen protagonist. It is a shame because the actual character starts out fairly interesting and relatable although that doesn't last long. Most side characters are used as a spotlight for the main character. If you like dark and edgy then you'll like Sung, Jin-Woo otherwise you'll probably find him boring.


Overall: It's a nice anime to switch your brain off too and if you enjoy high action fight scenes with good music then you'll love it. Just don't go into this expecting this it to be a unique and fresh entry for action anime. It's darker but otherwise follows the same pattern of a weak guy powering up to become a giga edge lord who shows everyone else up.